1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a blood pressure measurement device of the type disclosed in issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,066,890. More specifically, the invention herein relates to an adjustable finger cuff assembly which in one embodiment extends from the interior of a computer mouse controller and in another embodiment plugs into ports in a computer mouse controller.
2. Background Art
The inventors herein are also the inventors of a combined computer mouse controller and blood pressure measurement device or sphygmomanometer described in the aforementioned U.S. Patent. In one disclosed embodiment of that invention, a blood pressure measurement device having an inflatable finger cuff, is stored inside an otherwise standard computer mouse controller. When it is desired to make a blood pressure measurement, an access panel is opened and a hinged measurement cylinder is rotated from an interior compartment to an exterior position alongside the mouse where a user can place his or her index finger through the hollow cylinder where it is at least partially surrounded by an inflatable cuff. In another embodiment, a similar measurement cylinder is simply attached to the side of the mouse to connect at least one plug to a corresponding port. In both embodiments, once the cylinder is in position for the blood pressure measurement, an air pump within the mouse inflates the cuff to occlude blood vessels within the finger and then air pressure is released gradually to detect the pressure when blood begins to flow again (systolic) and when blood flows freely (diastolic) using an oscillometric method of blood pressure measurement.
The applicants herein have found that in order to compensate for different finger diameters of many potential users, it is highly advantageous to provide a finger cuff adjustment feature which permits a user to alter the initial engagement pressure of the finger and cuff before the measurement is performed. Such an adjustment capability enables the inflation and deflation of the cuff to be over a reasonably uniform range of air pressure irrespective of finger size. While such variation in finger cuff engagement has been provided in prior art finger cuff blood pressure measurement devices (see for example the OMRON™ model 815f finger cuff measurement device), such adjustability in a mouse-based finger cuff assembly presents unique size and space limitations which are far more difficult to overcome.